Five Free Agents the Cleveland Browns Should’ve Signed but Didn’t

The first wave of signings for the 2026 free agency period is in the books, and the Cleveland Browns were very active, especially along the offensive line.

And while people will say that sometimes the best deal is the one that you didn’t make, other times you really needed to close that deal.

In the case of the Browns, here are five free agency deals that the team should have sought out and closed before losing out to other teams:

Kyler Murray, quarterback, Vikings

For a team with no clear answer at the quarterback position, obtaining a 28-year old two-time Pro Bowler with playoffs experience for the league minimum seemed like a no-brainer. Murray would have automatically jumped to the top of the depth chart and delivered the one thing Cleveland lacked most at the quarterback position last year: accuracy.

Sure, signing Murray would have probably meant agreeing to a sizable extension next offseason, but that’s why 2026 under the veteran minimum would have been a perfect audition. Had he failed, the Browns could’ve just turned once again to the Shedeur Sanders-Deshaun Watson they’re planning on betting on anyways, with the understanding that Watson will be off the roster in a year or so, regardless.

If Minnesota clearly considered Murray a better option than their former 10th overall draft pick, J.J. McCarthy, it’s crazy to believe he wouldn’t also be a better option than the Browns’ fifth-rounder from last year.

Rasheed Walker, offensive tackle, Panthers

Many thought Walker could fetch a significant deal on the open market, but shockingly this wasn’t the case. He ended up taking a one-year contract for $10 million with the Panthers, who already have currently injured Ikem Ekwonu as their long term starter, so Walker is just a stopgap.

Cleveland already added Walker’s former teammate with the Packers, Elgton Jenkins, who summarily tried recruiting him to the Browns after signing himself, but to no avail. Like Carolina with Ekwonu, Cleveland’s current starter at left tackle -- Dawand Jones -- is also injured, but he comes with a lot more questions regarding long-term viability than Ikem.

Mike Evans, wide receiver, 49ers

This is another case where expectations for the market were much higher than reality, with some reporting that Evans was asking for $27 million per year, before joining San Francisco on a three-year deal worth $42.4 million with just $16.3 in guarantees.

Granted, convincing him to join a team in rebuilding mode with no clear answer at quarterback would have required a lot more money, but Evans -- coming off injury -- would have been a significant upgrade over what Cleveland currently has rostered after a season where Browns’ wideouts combined for just four receiving touchdowns.

Alijah Vera-Tucker, guard/tackle, Patriots

If versatility was the name of the game for Cleveland with the aforementioned Jenkins and Tytus Howard, acquired via trade from Houston, Vera-Tucker would have added a ton on top of that.

Capable of playing right guard or right tackle, Vera-Tucker would have afforded the Browns more combination possibilities in order to find a suitable five-man unit up front. He signed with New England for $42 million, with $21 million in guarantees, a slightly lower price tag than what Cleveland committed to Zion Johnson, due in no small part to the fact he missed the entire 2025 season with a torn triceps, but he should be good to go for 2026.

Evan Neal, guard, Giants

Purely a reclamation project, Neal decided to play one more year for the team that drafted him seventh overall in 2022. The cost? A paltry $1.215 million for the season.

Neal is coming off a season with zero appearances where he was a healthy scratch for a number of contests, but also struggled with some nagging injuries that landed him on IR.

It’s very clear that he’ll never become what the Giants envisioned when drafting him that high coming out of Alabama, but he has starting experience at tackle and guard, and perhaps a change of scenery -- and the chance to work with an accomplished offensive line guru such as George Warhop -- could have helped him take a few steps forward.

And, it couldn’t have been much worse than what Cleveland got out of the Cam Robinson, KT Leveston, Cornelius Lucas trio last year, could it?